Behind The Curtain

Come this way, friend. Step through the double doors and enter the place of worship. Let's take a small tour and observe some special places and mighty works.

Allow me to brush the snowflakes from your shoulders before we begin. Fortunately, the parking lot has been plowed and the walkway salted; a task most likely performed by the same faceless person who cuts the grass and trims the bushes during the summertime.

Step this way please, as our tour does not begin in the spotlighted area of the pulpit or with a sweep across the choir loft. And, we will not examine the Board Room where important decisions are agreed upon by titled individuals.

Instead, our tour will take us behind the curtain to the forgotten areas, to the unseen work and to the unsung heroes who accomplish it. Should you need to visit the facilities along the way, please note their cleanliness; a luxury that is mysteriously created by an invisible force.

To our left are the Sunday school classrooms; a place where selfless teachers invest countless hours into the lives of our children, teaching them, praying for them and loving them, unconditionally.

Across the hall is the nursery where unknown, unassuming volunteers tend to the most fragile among us, so their parents can enjoy the service, uninterrupted by a diaper change.

At the end of this hall is the food pantry; its inventory is stocked and distributed by exceptionally ordinary and extremely busy individuals, such as soccer moms and college students. The adjoining clothing pantry is much the same.

Did you notice the bus in the side lot? No one knows who drives it, but it pulls out faithfully early every Sunday morning, picking up children whose parents don't bring them to church.

In addition to our tour, I would like to introduce you to those who help in the kitchen, wash the windows, operate the AV equipment and print the bulletins. I wish I could mention those who visit the shut-ins and elderly and participate in the various outreach programs. But, unfortunately, I don't know their names. I will simply refer to them as those who are great in the kingdom of God.

But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matt. 20: 26-28)

(This article was published in Pathway Christian Newspaper January 2011)